swab

¹

[swob]

noun

1. a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.

2. a bit of sponge, cloth, cotton, or the like, sometimes fixed to a stick, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person or for applying medicaments, drying areas, etc.

3. the material collected with a swab as a specimen for microscopic study.

4. a brush or wad of absorbent material for cleaning the bore of a firearm.

5. Slang.,  a sailor; swabby.

6. Slang.,  a clumsy fellow.

verb (used with object)

swabbed, swabbing 

1. to clean with or as if with a swab.

   to swab the decks.

2. to take up or apply, as moisture, with or as if with a swab.

   to swab soapy water from the decks.

3. to pass over a surface.

   to swab a mop over the decks.

Swab.

²

abbreviation

1. Swabia.

2. Swabian.

swab

/ swɒb /

noun

1. med

   1. a small piece of cotton, gauze, etc, for use in applying medication, cleansing a wound, or obtaining a specimen of a secretion, etc

   2. the specimen so obtained

2. a mop for cleaning floors, decks, etc

3. a brush used to clean a firearm's bore

4. slang,  an uncouth or worthless fellow

verb

1. (tr) to clean or medicate with or as if with a swab

2. to take up with a swab

Other Word Forms

• unswabbed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swab¹

First recorded in 1645–55; back formation from swabber

Word History and Origins

Origin of swab¹

C16: probably from Middle Dutch swabbe mop; related to Norwegian svabba to splash, Dutch zwabberen to mop, German schwappen to slop over

Example Sentences

They wouldn't have had my statement from the time, they wouldn't have had photographs, and they wouldn't have had all the swabs and things that they took.

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Potential donors send off a cheek swab sample and wait to see if they are a match for anyone.

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However, he reiterated that details of any athletes who may have been prevented from competing as a result of the test, carried out via cheek swab, will remain confidential.

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It is a cheek swab or blood test, which is done once in an athlete's life by each national federation.

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The test for the SRY gene - which is part of the Y chromosome and causes male characteristics to develop - can be conducted via a cheek swab or blood test.

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Related Words

• daub 
• mop